Can we detail the path to designing healthier, affordable buildings? A panel of housing experts in conversation.
Healthy Materials Lab and housing experts from Habitat for Humanity NYC/WC, Bernheimer Architecture, Hines, and RiseBoro Community Partnership came together to answer critical questions about incorporating healthy materials and equitable design practices into New York City’s affordable housing developments.
The panelists, experts in architectural design, construction, material selection, and resident and building management, spoke candidly about roadblocks and progression. For each, healthier materials, more efficient systems, and community services were most successful when incorporated at the beginning of the project–as the foundation.
Introduction by Co-Founder/Director of Healthy Materials Library, Alison Mears; Charlotte Bell, Brandon Pietras, Ben Rodney, and Drew Vanderburg, in conversation with HML Researcher Sheetza McGarry and HML Co-Founder, Alison Mears. This recording took place on February 28, 2024.
Good Design is essential: “We have to try and work against [unit inequity] immediately by planning the building so that there are no “bad” places to live. So that the people who are most vulnerable are on an equal playing field to everyone else in the building.” - Brandon Pietras, Bernheimer Architecture
The conversation, moderated by HML’s Co-Director Alison Mears and Researcher and Master of Architecture student Sheetza McGarry, asked panelists to explore overlooked elements of the design and construction process. Instead of a “one size fits all” model, developers and designers make healthier materials choices to adapt to the specific needs of the constituents, building trust with the community at the same time.
The roundtable provided new insights into what home, health, and equity look like in our built environment today.
“When we are developing homes with permanent affordability built-in, we are signing up for a long-term relationship with the community. Often, low toxic and non-toxic materials tend to be higher quality, so let’s put the effort in now…it will (pay) save us in dividends down the line” - Charlotte Bell, Habitat for Humanity NYC/WC
Panelists
Charlotte Bell, VP of Housing Services at Habitat for Humanity NYC/WC
Charlotte is the Vice President of Housing Services at Habitat NYC and Westchester, and also a Loan Officer for the Habitat NYC Community Fund. She’s worked in community organizing, affordable housing preservation, and community development in NYC for over a decade.
Brandon Pietras, Project Architect at Bernheimer Architecture
Brandon Pietras (AIA LFA) graduated from Parsons’ Dual-Degree M.Arch/MFA LD program in 2017 and shortly thereafter joined Bernheimer Architecture. Brandon was the project architect for a 273-unit affordable-senior housing project in Jamaica, Queens, which is currently under construction. After participating in US Architects Declare Carbon Working Group, Brandon launched Bernheimer Architecture Decarbonization (BAD) last year with the long-term goal of building a certified zero carbon project.
Ben Rodney, VP of Construction and ESG Leader at Hines, past President of ASHRAE NY
Benjamin Rodney is Vice President of Construction for Hines. Since joining Hines in 2013, he has completed numerous ground-up projects in New York City including Sunrise at East 56th Street and The Apsley, Hines first two seniors housing projects in New York City. He served on the Local Law 97 multifamily working group and has spoken at numerous national and local conferences on topics surrounding decarbonization and ESG and is a professional engineer in New York State.
Drew Vanderburg, Senior Manager at RiseBoro Community Partnership
Drew Vanderburg is an urbanist working to preserve and protect the Right To Housing for New Yorkers and all citizens of Earth. As Senior Project Manager at RiseBoro Community Partnership, Drew has led the development, design, construction, and leasing of over 900 new affordable homes in NYC, representing over $800M worth of construction and preservation. He acts as the strategic design intermediary between all stakeholders that make an affordable housing project happen.